fresh

20-minute writing exercise, commencing (checks watch)... now:

My head is brimming with thoughts, but I'm not too certain that any of them have words. I think my ability to corral these things -- my literary lasso-- is brittle from underuse. Nothing like a little writing exercise to get it cracking again.

Life is new today, in so many ways. One of my dearest friends got married this weekend. Life is definitely new for her! She glowed all weekend, and her wonderful friends and family flew from all corners to be there with her as she promised her life and love to the one who promised it back. I've never been this confident of a marriage before -- they really and truly have what it takes: love, commitment, communication, determination, and a deep understanding of the other. And above all, friendship!

Life is new for me this week, because 'Penelope' used to be my roommate. Now she'd like to live with her husband, so I took the opportunity to obliterate the commute I hated and move to Hyde Park. Again. To, in fact, the very same apartment I moved into 10 years ago when I became a student at this illustrious institution of higher learning. The apartment is fine -- its size is particularly fine -- but I'm going to have to work all the more diligently to balance work and fun, and to find appropriate boundaries between my various spheres of responsibility.

As far as the inhabitants of the apartment: so far, so good! Three women, with different goals and different schedules and different sets of friends, but (happily) somewhat similar living styles. It helps that we're all pretty much awesome.

Life is new. And for me, new = interesting. Almost always, anyway. I tend to get stuck in mental ruts if I don't keep my life circumstances fresh. And this is as fresh as it gets -- picking everything up, putting it in a box, transporting it across town, and unpacking it into a new location with new people and new expectations.

Part of me is dying to settle down, pick a city, grow a family, put down roots, and another part of me will always, always delight in unpacking my boxes in a totally unfamiliar location, taking on the challenges and absorbing the gifts of Newness.

My job is renewed, too, in a way -- staff transitions have been wearing on me a lot this summer, and we are finally at a point where the relentless leaving is finished and we can start to take stock, lick our wounds bit, and create some solid structure. We can start to communicate effectively with one another again. Hallelujah!

(P.S. If you know me in real life, please note that I have a new address!)